Dallas Part 4: Who Shot J.F.K. and Who Shot J.R.?

This is the final post in my Dallas series, or at least until I return for another visit. I'm concluding with two tours I took while visiting the city. The first was all about the John F. Kennedy assassination and the second was related to one of the most iconic, prime-time, American, soap operas of all time.

Who Shot J.F.K?

JFK Memorial

In the heart of Dallas' West End Historic District, you'll find a memorial to John Fitzgerald Kennedy (JFK), the 35th president of the United States of America. Sworn into office at just 43 years of age, he was the youngest, president-elect of this country. JFK served as president for only 1,036 days, making his, one of the shortest presidencies in American history.

JFK Cenotaph

JFK's tenure was short lived because he was tragically assassinated in Dallas, Texas, two years and ten months into his presidency. Architect Phillip Johnson, a friend of the Kennedy family, erected the memorial, pictured above, in the Dallas County Historical Plaza to honor the late president.

The design of the memorial is stark and simple. Thirty-foot concrete walls surround a 50-foot square enclosure designed as “a place of quiet refuge, an enclosed place of thought and contemplation separated from the city around, but near the sky and earth,” as the placard in front of the memorial reads. The memorial itself is a cenotaph, or an empty tomb. This symbolic grave, celebrating the life and ideas of JFK, generates little foot traffic.

Dallas County Administration Building

In contrast, just one block west in Dealey Plaza, where the president was assassinated at approximately 12:30 pm on November 22, 1963, you'll find crowds galore.

Above is a photo of the Dallas County Administration Building, formerly known as the Texas School Book Depository. The sixth floor, open window you see on the southeastern corner of the building, is where Lee Harvey Oswald was believed to be positioned, and from where he fired the shots that killed President Kennedy.

After being shot, JFK's convertible continued down this street en route to Parkland Hospital where he was pronounced dead 30 minutes later. Those are the facts as stated in the official investigation that took place after JFK's death.

Many believe however, that a conspiracy was involved. The conspiracy theories have been generated and perpetuated due to many factors, including the slow release of government documents, witnesses hearing a shot fired from a different location, the backward motion of Kennedy's head after being shot (suggesting that the bullet could not have come from the angle were Oswald was positioned), and the death of Oswald himself so soon after Kennedy's assassination. Indeed, Oswald was shot and killed, while in policy custody, by nightclub owner Jack Ruby, a mere two days after Kennedy's assassination.

Reflecting Pool at Dealey Plaza

I am no expert, having learned much of this information only as a result of the tour I took while visiting Dallas. The tour lasted several hours and covered some information I already knew, but much more that I did not. Even that which I knew, came alive for me in a new way as I walked through the place where it all happened.

All that I learned gave me food for thought, upon which I chewed, as I sat near the reflecting pool in Dealey Plaza and as I walked toward my hotel, along part of the same path that Kennedy's motorcade took on that fateful Friday in late November 1963.

Whether you're a history fan like me or not, this is a tour I would recommend taking while in Dallas. Walking the streets where a pivotal moment in American and global history took place and gaining deeper understanding is an opportunity not to miss.

Who Shot J.R. Ewing?

Southfork Ranch

From the realistic and somber question of "who shot J.F.K.?," I'll transition to the fantasy world of soap opera drama at Southfork Ranch. Some of you are familiar with the house pictured above and the forever feuding Ewings. For everyone else, let me catch you up.

Once upon a time, there was an iconic, soap opera called Dallas. Dallas aired for a total of 14 seasons and took place in the city by the same name. It was not only a favorite show of my mom and my aunts and uncles, it was a global, cultural phenomenon. The show reached an estimated 300 million viewers across 60 - 90 countries.

Dallas featured the fictional Ewings, the powerful, Texas, oil ranching family led by patriarch, Jock Ewing and matriarch, Ms. Ellie Ewing.

Southfork Ranch Dining Room

The show centered around life in Dallas, Texas at Southfork Ranch, the Ewing family's home. Southfork Ranch is an actual home, located just outside of Dallas, in Parker, Texas. Today, the conference and event space hosts tours of the Ewing mansion. I couldn't resist a visit during my time in Dallas.

Southfork Ranch Backyard

After all, this mansion would show up on the television screen in my living room on Friday nights. When the theme music would play, it was the signal for my cousins and I to go to my room, where unbeknownst to our parents, we would watch the show through my bedroom window.

Even as very young children, we understood that J.R. Ewing was a scheming business man and his younger brother Bobby was the good-hearted glue that kept the Ewing family intact. My cousins and I still reminisce over memories of childhood slumber parties, late-night TV and grown up, Ewing secrets.

Southfork Gazebo

When Dallas debuted in 1978 and for two seasons thereafter, ratings were low.

The popularity of the show didn't blossom until season three, and specifically, the season three finale, "A House Divided." In the episode, the show's star, J.R. Ewing, played by Larry Hagman, was shot. The cliffhanger was watched by 90 million, U.S. viewers alone. That means that on the night of March 21, 1980, roughly 76% of American television sets were tuned into the Dallas season finale with households all asking, "Who shot J.R?" I was far too young to remember that episode, but the rest of the world seemed to.

Dallas Script with Notes by Larry Hagman

Though J.R. was shot in March of 1980, fans had to wait until November to find out who attempted to kill him. Those eight months sparked such Dallas, fan hysteria that bookmakers took odds on the culprit. Even Queen Elizabeth asked Larry Hagman for answers. In an interview, Larry Hagman stated, “We were presented to the Queen Mother. And she says, ‘I don't suppose you could tell me who shot J.R?’ I said, ‘No ma'am, not even you.’”

After 14 seasons and 357 episodes, the original Dallas series concluded.

The saga was revived in 2012 when TNT launched a three-season reboot, bringing back Larry Hagman as J.R. Ewing, Linda Gray as his wife, Sue Ellen and Patrick Duffy as Bobby Ewing.

Sadly, during the filming of the Dallas revival, Larry Hagman died, after a long battle with cancer.

As the show has faded into memory, what lingers is the way the characters felt like neighbors and friends our parents knew. I can still picture the Ewing family patriarch, Jock, driving his 1978 Lincoln Continental Mark V with the iconic Ewing 1 license plate, down a long, dusty Texas road.

Today, you can still see that car, along with other treasured Dallas memorabilia, at Southfork Ranch, where visitors are welcomed once again into the world of the Ewing dynasty.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKloBLFeYOs

I'll end this series on the city of Dallas with the opening theme from the show. Whether or not you have interest in the Dallas soap opera, it's opening, with the sweeping music in the background and pictures of oil rigs, the skyline, highways, ranches and the wide Texas sky, is an ode to the city of Dallas, a place I very much enjoyed visiting.

Next up is my 200th post dedicated to one of my favorite cities in the world.